MINSK. Sept 10 (Interfax) - Western countries have asked the Russian leader to put pressure on the Belarusian head of state in immigration issues, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a press conference, following negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday.
"The European Union and others are trying to solve this problem, in particular, by making certain claims against Russia, my colleague [Putin], they are urging him to influence, put pressure on Lukashenko," he said.
Lukashenko said he was grateful for Putin's stance on the issue.
"I am grateful for the stance he declares: Belarus has a leadership, authorities, so you should contact them and solve the problem there [in Belarus]," Lukashenko said.
"Look at them, they say they can't talk with us. Either the president is unlawful, or there is something wrong with the authorities. The Taliban are a different matter. They can talk and establish dialogue with them," he said.
"As soon as the active stage of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan was over, they appealed to everyone, including Russia and the Central Asian republics, and ordered the European Union to take in everyone running from Afghanistan... The European said 'yes, sir' and invited the Afghans in. You have invited them, so you should take them in, no matter where they come from," Lukashenko said.
For 20 years, hundreds of thousands of Afghans were working for those "who abandoned them and fled," he said.
"What kind of claims can they make against me or Belarusians or, especially, Russia in this connection?" Lukashenko said.
"People are running from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and other countries via Belarus and Russia. We did not invite them. We are not their destination. They are passing through us to where they were called. Take them in, they are your problem. This is our stance," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Western countries to settle the immigration crisis, caused by the events in Afghanistan, directly with Belarus.